The present invention relates in general to data processing systems, and in particular, to a computer system with processor boards arranged in groups with different stacking directions and a method for communicating across the processor boards.
In enterprise computer and networking systems, it is often advantageous to utilize high-density computer processing, data storage and telecommunication hardware components for the processing, storage, switching, routing and transport of high speed data in the form of digital signals. It is also advantageous for a plurality of these various components to communicate with each other at very high speed signaling rates. The use of a component-based system having separation of functions such as processing, storage, switching, and input/output interfaces allows individual components to be updated or upgraded independently from other components as well as allows customization for specific tasks. Furthermore, the use of components is cost effective since developing or purchasing a new component is less expensive than developing or purchasing an entirely new integrated hardware system that is not based on component design. Some such existing systems are hardwired and use a central switching architecture to allow components to communicate with one another.
Furthermore, the modern data center is suffering from the constraints of cabled, fixed-lane architectures. The concept of interconnecting racks of computing/storage servers through switching equipment with high-speed cables/fibers is taken for granted as the only method for providing connectivity. The fundamental technique used to provide random server-to-server communications is dominated by the Ethernet switch, and in modern data centers the switching architecture is typically implemented through a tiered tree design. A typical equipment rack contains twenty to forty servers that connect with Ethernet cables to the top-of-rack (TOR) switch. The TOR switches are then interconnected to the next tier in the switching system to an end-of-rack (EOR) switch (also known as a cluster switch). The EOR switch is normally a 10 gigabit Ethernet (10 GigE) switch with hundreds of ports. The EOR/cluster switches are then interconnected with 10 GigE (heading towards 40 GigE in the near future) uplinks to the next tier.
US 2013/0107853 A1 discloses a system and method for wireless communication in a backplane fabric mesh network architecture. A backplane network comprises a first antenna system located in a first network device cabinet including at least one first network device configured to transmit a data message over a high speed backplane. The first antenna system includes a first millimeter wave antenna of the first antenna system located external to the first device cabinet and configured to communicate with the first network device. The first millimeter wave antenna is configured to wirelessly transmit the data message from the first network device over the high speed backplane using emitted millimeter wave electromagnetic radiation. The network includes a second antenna system located in a second network device cabinet including at least one second network device, wherein the first and second device cabinets are positioned spatially apart from one another. The second antenna system includes a second millimeter wave antenna of the antenna system coupled to the second antenna system and located external to the second device cabinet. The second millimeter wave antenna is configured to wirelessly receive the data message over the high speed backplane using millimeter wave electromagnetic radiation emitted from the second millimeter wave antenna, wherein the received data message is handled by the second network device, the entire communication being handled without a central switch.